What a week for good news!

I thought last year was busy, (where I tallied up I’d spent nearly half the year away from home), but so far this year it feels like I haven’t been home for more than five minutes at a time. With one thing and another I have been all over the place, travelling here, there and everywhere.

So it’s with real happiness and pride that I share a few of my recent Good News Stories:

1. Rotary good news story

On Monday I was surprised by my Rotary Club (aided and abetted by the Mathematician) and given a special award. It’s a very touching thing of the club to do, showing their appreciation of my efforts over the years. They said some lovely things about me and clapped and congratulated me. It was made even more special because we had a group of Rotarians visiting from another district and they were very pleased to be present.

I have been contributing funds to the Rotary Foundation regularly and had already contributed enough for a Paul Harris Fellow in my own right. The club donated a further $US1000 which meant I received another badge, called a Sapphire. It’s a wonderful way to enable the good work of Rotary to continue throughout the world.

To be named a Paul Harris Fellow means that my Rotary Club has donated $US1000, in my name, to the Rotary Foundation. Rotary Clubs can award this honour to individuals who meet high professional and personal standards set forth by Paul Harris, the founder of Rotary. The recognition is not limited to Rotarians. Source

Paul Harris award for Debbie Harris!

Note: Being named a Paul Harris Fellow is not unique. There are over one million Paul Harris Fellows worldwide but I’m still proud to be numbered amongst them!

2. Six years of blogging – Blogging good news story #1

I received notification from WordPress congratulating me on 6 years of blogging – YES 6 YEARS!!!!!

Six years of blogging

I am coming up for my 1000th post any day now and almost 94000 hits on my blog. I am proud of all I’ve achieved here and it’s been a wonderful outlet for me. In the early days I think I deleted more posts than I published but I really got into the swing of it and I’ve met some amazing people – I just love the blogging community.

I’ve blogged about all manner of topics, re-branded myself, changed my theme, learnt lots of new skills and I’ve decided I’ll continue until I don’t enjoy it any more. I don’t make money from my blog, I do it because I love it!

3. Blogging award nominations – Blogging good news story #2

You may remember I posted about the Annual Bloggers Bash Awards (ABBAs) recently, well I was notified that I have been nominated in two categories – Hidden Gem and Best Overall Blogger! As the rules state you can only be nominated in one category I was given the choice of which category I’d prefer.

I chose Hidden Gem:

Have you stumbled upon a blog by chance and discovered useful information, or thought-provoking content? Is there a blog that doesn’t get the notoriety they deserve? Maybe they have such an original style you can’t help but read their posts. A blogger who you believe should get the limelight for a change is who deserves the Hidden Gem award.

I’m thrilled to bits just to be nominated at all, so I already feel like a winner. As you may remember I’ll be travelling to London (from Aus) and will be at the awards so it will be super exciting. I’ll be sure to let you all know when the voting opens 🙂

4. Best news of all – we’re expecting…our first grandchild!

I must admit that this isn’t news to me but it is news that I’m now allowed to share publicly. My daughter and her husband are expecting their first child in September this year. That makes us Grandparents in Waiting 🙂

We are all thrilled to bits with this exciting news.

Expecting!

As we move on through the year I’m sure I’ll keep you updated, now that the blog embargo on baby news has been lifted!

We are also very busy planning for a huge trip away soon, so life certainly is interesting at the moment.

Hoping all is going well with you :)

What good news have you got to share?? Let me know and we can celebrate together.

Congratulations on all those things! All great but becoming a grandparent is outrageously good – our two bundles of joy bring such delight (and the occasional bit of anguish). And another on the way to boot. More mayhem.

Wow Deb! What a wonderful week of good news. Congratulations on everything I didn’t realise you had been blogging for 6 years so well done! I hope I’m still blogging in that time as I’ve just celebrated my 3rd year. Well done on being nominated in the Blogging Awards and your good work with Rotary. Best of all, congratulations on the wonderful news of your grandbaby. Such an exciting time for you and your family. Nothing can describe the joy and love on a new level that you feel when you hold your grandbaby for the first time. Thanks for sharing your good news with us at #MLSTL and you deserve all the happiness in the world. xxx

Thanks Sue, it’s an exciting time for all of us isn’t it – your grand-baby is due in June, Leanne’s in August and mine in September! I appreciate your congrats n the blogging awards, I really can’t believe I’ve been blogging that long but in the early days I think I deleted most of my posts as I didn’t know what I was doing! So kind of you to say that 🙂

My granddaughter just turned 6 months, so I called and talked to my daughter. She had a tough time feeding the baby the first 6 to 8 weeks. She can’t believe that it’s all behind her and Autumn is a happy baby. Best wishes to you! 🙂

What a lot of fabulous good things are happening in your world Deb. Congrats on SIX years of blogging – I’m only at 3.5yrs so your are WAY ahead of me! And biggest congrats of all to you and your daughter for this grandbaby on his/her way to your family. They are the biggest joy – you have no idea til one arrives how delightful they are. We have our little almost 2yr old granddaughter here atm for a few days and I’m in Nan Heaven. Number 2 is due at the end of August so we’ll both have little grandbabies to celebrate in a few months. Thanks for linking up with us at #MLSTL and I’ve shared this on my SM xx

Thanks very much Leanne and I’m so happy you have another one due in August too! It’s going to be very exciting. Yes 6 years of bogging has been good but in the beginning I really had no idea what i was doing – I’m not that much better now except I’ve learnt a lot from others along the way. It was my pleasure to share my news on #MLSTL today :), what a better place could I pick to do it?? xx

Thanks very much for your congrats, it’s been a big learning curve over the years, but I’ve really enjoyed learning new skills and meeting others in similar situations. All the best with your blogging 🙂

Fab news -congratulations to your daughter & her husband; and to the grandparents to be 😊 I’m going to be a great aunt this year – my niece is expecting her first child in June! How exciting all this baby news is! 😊

Congratulations Deb! you did leave the best news until last! How lovely to be expecting your first grandchild.Looking forward to the posts that produces. Congratulations on your Rotary award and all the hard work you do with the club. Well done on the Blogger’s nomination.keep us posted on that please.Louise

Thanks so much Louise! It was good to be able to finally share the big news!! I enjoy my Rotary connections and the work done on a global scale makes me happy to help. I will be calling on you when voting opens 😊 enjoy your Easter break. X

Oh my goodness so much fabulous news but best of all a grandbaby! Our world has been so much richer for the arrival of ours almost two years ago. Looking forward to hearing more about that and your trip!

Yay for good news Sue! I’m so thrilled and excited. I know so many of you say the same thing about becoming a grandparent, I’m really looking forward to it. Our trip will be massive and we’re on the countdown now. More news to come I’m sure 😊

Although I’ve been keeping up with post on Facebook and Instagram, I’m a little embarrassed to admit that this is the first time I’ve actually found my way to debs world and popped in to read your blog from the original source…!

And I’m so glad I did. 😀

Congratulations on your nomination as a ‘hidden gem’ blogger. Very exciting news.

Now that I’ve bookmarked your blog, I’ll be returning to visit regularly. Thank you Deb.

Thanks so much for visiting Jan! I really enjoy my blogging life and being a bit creative. I’m really proud to be up for the hidden gem award too. I look forward to having you over for a visit anytime 😊

So much good news! Congratulations on all counts Deb! We just found out our son-in-law made the Dean’s List and is graduating with a 4.0 GPA–this accomplished while he worked full-time and helped raise a family. We also have a grandson graduating from high school this year. He has been accepted to the airline pilot program at a local university. We are so proud of both of them.

CONGRATS on all 4 but most of all CONGRATS on becoming a grandmother in waiting!!! You just don’t know what’s to come but it will all be good and worth the wait ♥ Thank you Debbie for linking up at the #BloggingGrandmothersLinkParty 26! I shared your post x 4 ♥

Thanks for your interest Julie. I actually started blogging as a way of recording our travels and then went on to incorporate other things as well. I enjoy my little world immensely and love the interaction with others like yourself. Once I was made redundant I moved into retirement mode and have made the most of my new life. I hope that helps answer some of your questions. All the best. Feel free to email me at debbie@debs-world.com if you’d like to. 😊

This is me!

Travelling is in my family's blood and since being forced into an early retirement (due to a redundancy) I'm making the most of my 'spare time'. Along with travel, Rotary, running, cycling, reading, photography and social media, I love to blog. The community network, continually learning new skills, and sharing ideas is a source of great joy. Other things that make me happy are my husband, our three grown up daughters and family. I now have a new granddaughter who makes me very happy too!
Taking pleasure in the everyday beauty around us is essential to a happy life - take time to smell the roses! It costs nothing to smile :)